


So I give you my life to keep

by Fluffypanda



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Arranged Marriage, Bittersweet Ending, Dubious Consent, M/M, Magic Made Them Do It, Power Imbalance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-06-22
Updated: 2018-06-22
Packaged: 2019-05-27 03:08:12
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,904
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15015326
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Fluffypanda/pseuds/Fluffypanda
Summary: The Ancient One prepares Tony Stark for his wedding.





	So I give you my life to keep

**Author's Note:**

> I hadn’t planned on creating Tony Stark bingo fills just yet, but I needed a change of pace. I’m not really sure what happened here, but I hope you like it.
> 
> R4 - arranged marriage 
> 
> Thanks again to [erawebuilt](http://archiveofourown.org/users/erawebuilt/pseuds/erawebuilt) for the beta work!
> 
> If you want more info on the dub-con aspect, head to the end note.

Tony watched the pale woman elaborately coil the silk ribbon around his hands, over and under, binding them together, the pure white stark against Tony’s olive skin. They were held tight, tight enough that he could barely feel them anymore. When she finished, she held the tail end of the ribbon in one hand.

“You are making the right choice,” she said, meeting Tony’s eyes with a reassuring gaze older than it had any right to be.

Distantly, Tony could hear the chant of prayer, the voices carried through the hazy, incense-laden halls of the place the Ancient One named as Kamar-taj. Tony was struck again by how strange this all was. What had possessed him to take this woman at her word and follow her to Kathmandu? He hadn’t even told Pepper where he was going.

Tony huffed a humorless laugh. “That’s easy for you to say. I’m giving up a lot agreeing to this.”

“And I thank you for it,” she replied easily as she poured herself a cup of tea from the pot on the delicately carved table between them. The tea steamed despite having been placed there more than an hour ago. “In another world your sacrifice would be very different.”

“I don’t know what that means,” Tony said with a flash of annoyance. He wasn’t opposed to dabbling in religion for the sake of soul searching, something he’d been thinking about more lately, but everything she told Tony was wrapped in eight layers of mysticism and it was wearing on him.

“No, you wouldn’t, would you?” She looked away, sighing. “Tell me, when you were captured, did you ever think of escaping on your own? Had it ever crossed your mind?”

Bile rose to the back of Tony’s throat. “Of course it did. I thought about it every damn second I spent in that cave, but it never would have happened.”

Rhodey was the only reason he got out. He never gave up on Tony, well, not until Tony tried to stop manufacturing weapons. Tony liked to think he’d have come around eventually, but he’d never find out for sure, would he?

She took a sip of her tea, savoring it. “Because of your heart?”

He hated the knowing look she gave him, like she already knew the answer and judged him for it. If he wanted to be treated like he was weak for being captured, for being tortured, for needing rescue, he’d have stayed home and quietly died from a weapon of his own making.

“It was more the armed terrorists guarding the doors, but yeah, having a chest full of shrapnel was a factor.” Tony leaned back imperiously, though the effect was ruined by the ribbon’s pull.

She smiled like he said something funny and silently sipped her tea.

The doubts that plagued Tony since the beginning caught up with him. “You’re really going to fix it, right?”

“Once the marriage is sealed, Stephen will be able to heal you.” She set down her cup and stood, her saffron robes swishing behind her before falling perfectly into place. “Speaking of which, the ceremony is about to begin.”

Just then a gong sounded. The Ancient One waved a hand and the sliding doors in front of them opened.

Following her lead, Tony stumbled to his feet, nearly tripping on the intricately layered silk robes he’d been given to wear. She gently tugged the trailing end of the ribbon binding Tony’s hands and led him through the doors, into the atrium.

Sunlight streaming down from above lit the space, falling on a man in dark blue robes, Tony’s husband-to-be, waiting on a raised platform. He wasn’t what Tony expected, if he expected anything at all. He was about Tony’s age, tall and thin, with unusually high cheekbones and clear blue eyes.

He narrowed his eyes. “Tony Stark?” he said, incredulity lacing his deep voice. “ _ This _ is who you chose?”

“Are you seriously complaining? I’m giving you my life here,” Tony snapped. He hadn’t walked away from everything he knew to play wife to some bratty wizard–except apparently he had.

He just hoped it was worth it.

“I didn’t choose him, you did, or rather you will,” she said, pointedly before handing the end of the ribbon to Stephen. “He is what you need to face the coming trials.”

Looking aggrieved, Stephen closed his eyes and accepted the ribbon with a sigh. “Let’s get this started.” He turned to Tony, his mouth twisted into a frown. “You know our lines, I hope.”

He clearly could not have a lower estimation of Tony if that was the level they were at. Tony might not have a reputation as the most responsible person, but public speaking was part and parcel of what he did for a living. He could manage some wedding vows.

“You’re kidding me, right?” Tony said, rolling his eyes. “I had them memorized in five seconds.”

“I can see this is going to be a successful marriage,” Stephen muttered just loud enough that Tony heard him.

The gong rang again. Tony was startled to notice that the Ancient One was nowhere to be found; they were alone in the atrium. She’d been insufferable, but now that she was gone, Tony felt like he was working without a net.

“I, Stephen Strange, take you, Tony Stark, to be my husband and my partner in life,” Stephen said, his voice deep and resonant. “Do you accept?”

Tony hesitated, his heart pounding in his ears. His hands had long gone numb in their bindings. This was it, there was no turning back.

“I accept,” he began, the words sticking in his throat. He hadn’t expected it to be this difficult. “Whatever may come, I will always be there. As you have given me your hand to hold, so I give you my life to keep.”

Stephen briefly met Tony’s gaze, his expression softening a little before continuing the ceremony. He tugged on the ribbon until it lengthened, seemingly without tightening the binding around Tony’s hands. Stephen wrapped it around his own shaking right hand in a much looser configuration and held the end fast in his uncooperative grip.

When he was done, he looked back up at Tony and nodded carefully. Tony straightened up and nodded back.

Their lips brushed in a kiss.

Red dyed the ribbon around Tony’s hands, growing deeper and more vibrant until suddenly the ribbon wasn’t there at all. Tony’s hands fell free and feeling rushed back into them.

Tony pulled away with a soft gasp. The room suddenly felt too warm, almost cloying. He needed, needed—

Already, Tony was leaning back in. Stephen clutched Tony’s hands, his eyes blown wide. He began to press closer, his tongue darting out to lick his lips, before he stopped, shaking his head.

Tony knew he was right, they needed to finish this.

Together they took a deep breath and said, “Knowing how deeply our lives intertwine with each other and with all beings, we undertake the practice of protecting life.”

Tony leaned into Stephen’s chest and inhaled his scent, clean silk and incense overlaying Stephen’s personal musk. The heady combination left him dizzier than ever.

“Knowing how deeply our lives intertwine with each other and with all beings, we undertake the practice of taking only what is offered.”

Cupping Tony’s chin in one hand, Stephen ran his thumb across Tony’s bottom lip. Tony tasted it, resisting the urge to take it deeper into his mouth.

“Knowing how deeply our lives intertwine with each other and with all beings, we undertake the practice of cultivating loving-kindness and honesty as the basis for speaking.”

Stephen was hot and hard against Tony, pressing against him eagerly as they continued their vows. A knee was inserted between Tony’s legs, and he rutted against it. The next line of the vow poured out, nearly unbidden.

“Knowing how deeply our lives intertwine with each other and with all beings, we undertake the practice of using sexuality wisely and using it to protect our commitment to each other,” they breathlessly finished.

Stephen’s hands were at Tony’s robes, peeling them off of him while Stephen explored Tony’s mouth with his tongue. They parted, looking at each other with hazy eyes, just as Stephen finished stripping Tony of the first layer.

Tony grasped at Stephen’s clothes to do the same, but his grip was too unsteady, so he settled for licking his way up the column of his throat. He sucked at a bit of skin and Stephen stifled a moan.

The heat had reached the point it was almost unbearable, but then Stephen found the ties to Tony’s pants and pulled them free so they pooled around his ankles. A hand twisted around Tony’s cock, working it. Tony bucked into the sure grip with all he had. Tony panted wordlessly into Stephen’s ear, grasping ineffectually at his robes. He needed more.

Time seemed to melt around him, until the world had reduced to just one sensation and the next. Blessedly, Stephen’s fingers found their way into Tony’s mouth just as the last robe came undone, revealing the scars across Tony’s chest. Swirling his tongue around the intrusion, Tony let the robe slide off his shoulders and hit the floor.

Removing his fingers from Tony’s mouth, Stephen lowered him down onto the pile of silk. Feather-light, a slick finger brushed over Tony’s hole. He whined, jerking his hips to demand more. In response the finger pressed in, slowly stretching him open. Tony gasped and squirmed at the touch, still greedy for more. Another finger joined it, then another, but it wasn’t enough.

They kissed, lips sliding across each other with little regard for skill. Stephen’s fingers withdrew as he fumbled at his clothes. Tony was left feeling empty, desperately keening at the loss.

Then he felt the hot, wet tip of Stephen’s penis brush his thigh. He wanted it. He hooked his legs behind Stephen’s back, pulling him closer. Stephen grabbed Tony’s hips with a bruising grip, steading them so he could catch the rim of Tony’s ass with his cock.

He pushed in, splitting Tony open in one long slide. It burned, almost too much for Tony to take without anything more than spit and pre-come to ease the way, yet he rocked back into it, until Stephen’s cock was buried deep.

A moment to adjust, sharing breaths between them, then Stephen began moving. He jack-rabbited in and out, chasing his pleasure. Tony reached for his own cock with one clumsy hand as his arousal surged. He spasmed around Stephen’s cock, only seconds from coming.

Stephen grunted, shivering as he emptied inside him. The feeling of warm come inside him, filling him, was enough to send Tony over the edge and he finished too, spurting sticky white streams over his belly.

Tony was still shuddering through the last of his orgasm when the feverish haze lifted and thought began to come back to him. His new husband panted above him as his cock softened inside Tony. He blinked, eyes wide with realization, before scrambling away. He collapsed beside Tony, out of breath.

Face pale, Stephen said, “I didn’t know it’d be like that.”

Tony ignored him and raised his shaking hands to his face. Near invisible lines crisscrossed them in an elaborate pattern, almost as if they were still bound. 

He was a married man now.

**Author's Note:**

> Tony and Stephen have sex after they finish their wedding vows due to what is implied to be magically induced lust.
> 
> If you can think of any other tags for this, let me know. I love comments.
> 
> Originally posted on tumblr [here](http://ayapandagirl.tumblr.com/post/175030990828/so-i-give-you-my-life-to-keep)


End file.
